Periodontal disease is a major concern in dentistry. Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,883 deals with the treatment of periodontal and related diseases. Periodontal tissues are often lost with the progression of periodontal disease. Loss of periodontal tissue compromises the prognosis for retention of teeth in the dental arch, often creates an unhealthy environment in the mouth and may be unsightly.
Various methods have been used to facilitate regeneration of lost or diseased periodontal tissue. Periodontal barriers are sometimes surgically implanted adjacent the root of the tooth, or wherever tissue loss has occurred, by periodontal surgery to aid and guide tissue regeneration along the tooth surface where periodontal tissue regeneration is desired. Presently, these barriers are comprised of materials such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) which is biocompatible and non-resorbable. The barriers are typically removed after 4-6 weeks by a surgical re-entry procedure. Resorbable barriers are also being investigated for potential use in periodontal guided tissue regeneration. For example, cross-linked collagen is being studied in this regard.
It is often difficult to obtain the periodontal tissue growth desired since the regeneration of periodontal tissue is variable. Moreover, surgical implantation of barriers can be associated with infection and inflammation. Infection and excessive inflammation can adversely effect tissue regeneration with the use of periodontal barriers for guiding healing. Therefore it would be beneficial to be able to treat the tissue regeneration site with antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, or other appropriate chemotherapeutic agents as required to facilitate periodontal tissue regeneration. Also, the use of carrier agents in conjunction with appropriate chemotherapeutic agents to enhance cellular uptake of the chemotherapeutic agents would be helpful in the regeneration of periodontal tissue. Presently, applicant is not aware of chemotherapeutic agents being incorporated into these barriers to facilitate tissue regeneration.
A potential problem envisioned with the use of chemotherapeutic agents in conjunction with periodontal barriers is how to control and regulate the delivery and uptake of such agents to the tissue regeneration site over an extended predetermined period of time so as to obtain the desired periodontal tissue growth.
The apparatus and method of the present invention solves these and many other problems associated with the use of periodontal barriers for tissue regeneration. The present invention provides a barrier and method wherein microparticles are incorporated into the periodontal barrier, the microparticles microencapsulating the chemotherapeutic agents and optional carrier agents desired.
The use of microparticles containing chemotherapeutic agents is known. For example, in Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,883, time-release, microencapsulated chemotherapeutic agents are utilized to provide localized treatment of periodontal disease. However, the microcapsules are deposited in the periodontal pocket or attached to a root surface of the tooth for treatment of the periodontal disease itself and are not incorporated into a barrier for aiding or guiding periodontal tissue regeneration.